Wednesday, July 18, 2018

10/10/2015

Hi!
This week was quite a whirlwind. I went to Paris with @aupairaubrey and another au pair named Katie who is really awesome. Both girls are great and we ended up in the Tuilieries with a giant (medium) cotton candy after we went to the Musée D’Orsay.
There was an exhibit on the history of prostitution at Musée D’Orsay, which for the most part featured paintings of fully clothed women, but there were parts of the exhibit that featured less-clothed women and rooms full of sexualized nude women. As an American, I am a prude by default, so I felt uncomfortable as we walked through a room full of 1800/1900s porn that also featured a film. But that is something I never would have experienced in the states, so I am glad to have had it, no matter how uncomfortable I felt. Being here is a cultural exchange. And what’s in art museums is part of that exchange.
On Saturday night, Katie and I stayed in a tiny studio her host parents own and watched How To Train Your Dragon while eating cookies that tasted slightly like garlic and drinking a glass of cheap rosé. It honestly feels weird to be somewhere I can legally drink. Like, being here has taken away any desire I may have had to drink because it’s not seen as something bad. It’s a normal part of life and my girls are allowed to have tastes of their parents’ wine sometimes. Because moderate alcohol consumption is part of their lives, I feel like it teaches the kids responsibility, not recklessness. Nobody drinks to get drunk here, unlike teens and young adults in the states.
Then on Monday, I got winter shoes since now it’s starting to rain all the time and I don’t really have shoes that hold up in the rain. I also babysat my girls, which wasn’t too bad because they go to sleep well for the most part.
Tuesday, I played with Little M for most of the day, since I primarily am with her, and that was fun. She’s decided that she hates English, but she’s beginning to understand it, which is always fun!
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Wednesday and Thursday got switched, working-hour-wise because on Thursday afternoon, we went to a shoe factory. To be honest, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were super long because on Wednesday afternoon, I was with Big M and P for the afternoon, then they had friends over for their snack, which I was basically in charge of. Being in charge of 7 little girls is so HARD. I also had two babysitting jobs on Wednesday, which drained almost all of my energy. I babysat for the neighbors across the street from 6:30-7:00 and their two year old thought it was a good idea to jump on my stomach after we had eaten. Then, I was at a friend of my family’s house, which was fine, but I walked there in the dark, which was only slightly terrifying. Their kids went to bed super quickly, so I sat in their living room for 2 ½ hours doing basically nothing.
On Thursday afternoon, we went to a shoe factory, which was fine. It was hard for me to follow what was happening since I never learned science words in French so I just nodded a lot and my host dad basically had to explain everything to me like I was 3, but it worked. After the tour of the factory, I played 1,2,3, soleil! (red light, green light) with the girls and had a lot of fun doing that. THursday was the only night I was free this week and I stayed up way past my bedtime so I don’t know why I didn’t catch up on my sleep.
Yesterday, I was with the girls from about 1:30-6:30 and that was crazy. We made an apple cake, P cut my hair, and Little M scratched me. I also had to do all of my normal Friday stuff during that time, so getting the girls outside for most of the day was hard since I couldn’t be in the garden with them while I was up on the third floor in the playroom. I managed but it was one of those things you need to just figure out how to do during the hour the girls are in their rooms after lunch. Next week will likely be better. 
Then I went across the street to babysit for our neighbors. Two of the boys went to sleep super quickly, but the oldest had a nightmare, so I sat with him for a while until he fell asleep. Then, around midnight, the youngest, who jumped on my stomach on Wednesday, woke up crying so I brought him a glass of water, which he promptly poured all over his face and pillow since even though I told him to sit up, he did not. I noticed he felt a little warm, but he went right back to sleep after he got dried off, so I didn’t worry too much. Then he woke up like screaming and ran around the house looking for his mom, so I brought him with me to lie down and wait for his mom, who got home maybe five minutes later. It turns out he had a fever, the poor kid. I saw him this morning when I was on a walk and he looked like he felt miserable, so I hope he feels better because he’s really fun.
Today was pretty relaxed. I went on a walk and hit the secondhand store since my jeans died on me this week. They didn’t have anything in my size, so I kept walking around Vernon until I found myself at Monoprix. Now I have a new pair of jeans that are actually denim. Then, I sat at a café and had a “diabolo grenadine”, which is pretty much a Shirley Temple but strawberry and withougt the cherries. They’re delicious. Tonight, I went to The Bus Stop Diner for dinner and it was really fun! I had a burger and it had FRY SAUCE on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so glorious. 
tomorrow will most likely be pretty relaxed, so I’m excited to kinda just do nothing.
Anyways, hope this tides y’all over until next time!

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